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[summer2002]

Hi,

I am planning a vacation to New Zealand for next February 2009. I am planning to spend 12-14 nights in New Zealand and most of the time in south island. I am thinking about flying from Auckland to Christchurch and starting my trip from there..I have many places I would like to seem based on recommendations from friends, for example: Akarao, Kaikoura, Te Anau, Queenstown, Milford Sound, Wanaka and Fox Galcier. I am not sure what would be the best way to go aboout this trip..should I hire a car in Christchurch and drive to Akaroa and Kaikoura and then fly to Queenstown and hire a car there again and drive to Milford Sound, Te Anau and Fox Galcier? Or should I just hire a car and drive everywhere...
Also, do you have any recommendation for inexpensive, but nice and safe hotels/ bed and breakfast places in these locations that I would like to visit?
Do you recommend to drive to Milford Sound from Queenstown or take a tour bus? How are the roads there?
Thanks so much for your help!

[loverman]

Its horses for courses- what do YOU like doing (12 days is a flying visit) and depends on how much you want to cram.

IMO

I'd fly Auckland to Wellington, get the ferry over to Picton (great views entering the Marlboro Sounds),catch the Trans Coastal railway down to Kaikoura, see the whales, jump back on the train to Christchurch- hire a car from Christchurch, the highway (through Geraldine is gorgeous) to Mt Cook, use the car all the way through Te Anau, drive down to Milford (Homer tunnel is just great), I'd have Queenstown as the last stop and then catch a flight out to wherever (Auckland, Wellington etc)

Places to stay, if you like B&B's or homestays, are second to none in NZ- you won't find a more friendly place

The NZ B&B guide (the black book) is a great place to start for accomodation of this sort

Driving is a great way to get round NZ as it isnt that big and you can chose when you want to stop and what you want to see

[ScottWoz]

Agree. It depends what YOU want and how you prefer to travel. Good ideas so far but I think with only 12-14 days you'll be packing it in, which is no problem just that you may have to miss something, OR get less out of a place you otherwise could've capitalised on.

Totally agree with the crossing of the Marlborough Sounds as part of the itinerary and taking the train down through Kaikoura. That will still take away from your timeframe though so you'll need to make it up somewhere else. You could always take a car from Christchurch and round up Kaikoura and Akaroa before heading through the Mackenzie Country, through the great lakes (inc. Pukaki and Mt Cook), down through Wanaka and in to Queenstown. This will definitely add a couple of days to your itinerary but you'll get a hell of a lot of spectacular and refreshingly unspoiled scenery out of it.

Is it worth the driving from Queenstown to Milford? Hell yes. The Milford road is one of the most scenically amazing drives in the world. Drive it, don't bus it - if you wan't your freedom that is. If you're lacking the time though, flying from Queenstown over the Humboldts, the Divide and the Hollyford Face is nothing short of stunning. Either way you'll get something very valuable from the experience.

This creates another hurdle though as we now need to get you up the west coast for the Glaciers. The drive from Queenstown to Haast passes through some stunning alpine scenery.

Again, it's tricky to advise without knowing what sort of thing floats your boat. I reckon you could get a lot out of 12-14 days. It's just a case of what you want most out of the experience. Can you shed any more light? This will help us to help more..

[nztravelguide]

Hi,

I am planning a vacation to New Zealand for next February 2009. I am planning to spend 12-14 nights in New Zealand and most of the time in south island. I am thinking about flying from Auckland to Christchurch and starting my trip from there..I have many places I would like to seem based on recommendations from friends, for example: Akarao, Kaikoura, Te Anau, Queenstown, Milford Sound, Wanaka and Fox Galcier. I am not sure what would be the best way to go aboout this trip..should I hire a car in Christchurch and drive to Akaroa and Kaikoura and then fly to Queenstown and hire a car there again and drive to Milford Sound, Te Anau and Fox Galcier? Or should I just hire a car and drive everywhere...
Also, do you have any recommendation for inexpensive, but nice and safe hotels/ bed and breakfast places in these locations that I would like to visit?
Do you recommend to drive to Milford Sound from Queenstown or take a tour bus? How are the roads there?
Thanks so much for your help!

Here is a typical 14 day itinerary I provided for a couple on a South Island holiday:



Arrival in Christchurch
Takes an hour or so to sort out the rental, etc. and then we get on the way. I haven’t been told where you come from so I am not sure if you have just been on a long international flight but will just assume so. As a result you probably will be tired to say the least..........anyhow I recommend not to rush off today but go downtown Christchurch for the remainder of the day and stay the night.
I’ll send along with your itinerary a list of recommended accommodations in the South Island.
For a B&B in Christchurch I recommend the Devon Hotel right downtown in walking distance of almost everything plus the tram that goes throughout the city goes by the door. Nice peaceful quiet spot you may wish to treat yourself to as a beginning. www.thedevon.co.nz. If you do go there let Sandra, the owner, know I sent you. Wonderful lady.
Here are the websites to find out the important places to go there:
www.christchurch.org.nz
www.tram.co.nz
www.artscentre.org.nz
www.christchurchartgallery.org.nz
Plenty of great cafes, restaurants and bars............
Good place to begin your travels so enjoy and get a good night’s sleep as I am going to make sure you get to see New Zealand in the few days you have.................



Day 2 -
Let’s go.....no slacking we are on our way now. From Christchurch we head north on route one. The drive takes you through small communities. If interested in picking up some local wines stop at Pukeko Junction on the left near Leithfield. Best bargain buying of the local best. If you want to try a really good cafe on the left just after but before Amberley is the Brew Moon cafe.............you’ll love it! You are headed to Kaikoura, home of the whales, dolphins and seals. Expensive to go see the whales but check out the Whalewatch anyhow. www.whalewatch.co.nz . The town has got some great bars and restaurants to hang out. You haven’t given me any information to know what age you are so it limits my direction a bit.........
If you want to see some seals up close and personal go north of Kaikoura several kilometres until the road (route 1) does a sharp left and begins going through an area where the shoreline is quite rough. Keep an eye open for places to pull off.
I recommend going to where you will see a small sign on the left denoting Opah Walk. There is a real large parking lot on the right. Not many people are aware of this but take that short walk and you will come to a fabulous waterfall area. After that turn around and then you can park in the pull-off spots where all the seals hang out..................return to Kaikoura for the night. let me know what kind of accommodations you require and we will work it out. This goes for the entire trip.
Have a look at this website for pricing, etc. - www.aatravel.co.nz .
Driving time from Christchurch is 2 1/2 hours.
www.kaikoura.co.nz

Day 3 -
Up early and away you go on a beautiful drive to the West Coast. Go south of Kaikoura on route 1 to route 70 turning right until the junction of route 7 and then th side road to Hanmer Springs. www.hanmersprings.co.nz . Just before Hanmer is the Thrillseekers Canyon - www.thrillseekerscanyon.co.nz . You may want to give something a go there. What you don’t want to miss is the best hot pools in New Zealand at Hanmer Springs. Take a soak and enjoy...........Driving time from Kaikoura is 1 1/2 hours.
From here we return to route 7 and turn right. The upcoming drive is one of the most scenic in New Zealand going through the Lewis Pass. It is a 3 hour drive now to the West Coast. A great little town of Reefton is a good stop. Maybe the Old Miners will be in there shack in the middle of the town? Continue along route 7 to the town of Greymouth on th West Coast. Stay the night here or if not tired yet of driving go just the short distance to a real nice place to stay at the Shining Star Resort on the beach - www.shiningstar.co.nz on the north edge of Hokitika.
www.hokitika.co.nz

Day 4/5/6 -
Be sure to check out Hokitika as it is the best arts and crafts town in th South Island and has a lot of interesting shops. Great beach too..........a real wild West Coast beach. Don’t dally though as we are heading for Glacier Country a drive of just over 2 hours to Franz Josef. Along the way be sure to stop at the home of the giant sandfly, Pukekura, south of Ross to experience a real West Coast place and meet a thar!
On to the glaciers...........I recommend staying at the Rainforest Retreat - www.rainforestretreat.co.nz - You can walk free to the base of the glacier or take any of the activities on hand such as a helicopter ride to walk on the top......
www.west-coast.co.nz
www.glaciercountry.co.nz

On south on route 6. It is about an hour to Fox Glacier. At the north edge of town take the road to Lake Matheson and walk around it. This is the picture post card lake of New Zealand. After it is on south on route six to the end of the West Coast at Haast. Good restaurant there - McGuires nothing much else but that’s okay we got a long but exciting drive today up the Haast River Valley through Mount Aspiring National Park. be sure to stop and see Thunder Falls and just past the Gates of Haast at the bridge before climbing the mountain through Aspiring. This will be a long drive taking you to Wanaka for the night. Good stop at Makarora. You will pass between Lake Wanaka and Lake Hawea on the way. Beautiful scenery all the way. Wanaka is a real tourist town you will appreciate.
www.lakewanaka.co.nz

Day 7/8/9 -
From Wanaka we are off to Queenstown. It is a drive of 1 1/2 hours through more scenic wonderland. You will drive through the area’s wine country and be sure to stop at the original bungy jump along the way at the end of the gorge. Take a short detour through Arrowtown, an old mining town redone, on the way to Queenstown.
Stay in Queenstown and get your adrenaline needs filled. This is New Zealand’s party town so enjoy. Cheap accommodation in town is at the Top Ten Holiday park - www.camp.co.nz .
Since you would find it very hard to do in the time you have I suggest you catch a tour to Milford Sound out of Queenstown. It is a long hard drive so let them do it so you can enjoy the sight-seeing. It will still take an entire day..............
www.queenstown.co.nz
www.everythingqueenstown.com
www.realjourneys.co.nz


Day 10 -
Leaving Queenstown return north on route 6 to Cromwell taking route 8 through the awesome Lindis Pass to Omarama and then route 83. At Omarama there is a display of costumes from the Xena TV show at the Totara Flats Gallery. Can’t miss it. Small town. Driving time from Queenstown will be 3 hours. Go on to Twizal to stay the night another 1/2 hour drive.

Day 11/12 -Mckenzie Country- LOTR Country!
From Twizal now we go into some breath-taking scenery on route 8 to the turnoff to Mt. Cook. Driving time is only an hour. You might want to splash out here and stay the night at the Hermitage -
www.mtcooknz.com
www.hermitage.co.nz

Leave Mt. Cook and on to Lake Tekapo.............Try the new ho tubs there by the lake . Stay the night in the Lake Tekapo Holiday Park - www.laketekapo-accommodation.co.nz - Just before Lake Tekapo there is a urn off to the top of Mt John one of the most fabulous outlooks in country and a glass enclosed cafe nest to the Observatory.

Day 13 -
The drive to Christchurch is 3 hours so judge your own time to get to the airport to turn in your vehicle by 4pm and then get a room at a hotel close by for the 8am departure.................I can recommend the right hotels if you want.... You might want to shorten your stay in the Mckenzie Country and drive through.....your call to make it easy on you.

Day 14.........................goodbye! Hope it worked for you! I have pointed out a lot of information few visitors get since I have been to them and know them myself and enjoy passing on the information to anyone I can help enjoy their time here.

[mika.m]

[quote name='nztravelguide' date='Aug 21 2008, 12:01 AM' post='69488']
Hi,
Also, do you have any recommendation for inexpensive, but nice and safe hotels/ bed and breakfast places in these locations that I would like to visit?

hey,

good luck on your trip, i have some friends that will be there on feb. and said they found good hostels suggestions on http://www.trekcafe.com/Travel-Destinations/?action=NZ
i might join them afterwards and who knows maybe they'll meet you there.

[nztravelguide]

I recommend you drive everywhere. The most important part of the journey happens to be the scenic world of New Zealand not to be missed by internal flying if you can help it.....
Stop and smell the roses as they say...............around every corner and over every hill is another vista in the South Island................
Check www.newzealandtravelguide.net for more information on accommodation, car hire, routes, etc..............It is all there..............and have a look at the Google map in satellite mode to see how it really actually looks.......awesome technology.........

Hi,

I am planning a vacation to New Zealand for next February 2009. I am planning to spend 12-14 nights in New Zealand and most of the time in south island. I am thinking about flying from Auckland to Christchurch and starting my trip from there..I have many places I would like to seem based on recommendations from friends, for example: Akarao, Kaikoura, Te Anau, Queenstown, Milford Sound, Wanaka and Fox Galcier. I am not sure what would be the best way to go aboout this trip..should I hire a car in Christchurch and drive to Akaroa and Kaikoura and then fly to Queenstown and hire a car there again and drive to Milford Sound, Te Anau and Fox Galcier? Or should I just hire a car and drive everywhere...
Also, do you have any recommendation for inexpensive, but nice and safe hotels/ bed and breakfast places in these locations that I would like to visit?
Do you recommend to drive to Milford Sound from Queenstown or take a tour bus? How are the roads there?
Thanks so much for your help!

Here is a typical 14 day itinerary I provided for a couple on a South Island holiday:



Arrival in Christchurch
Takes an hour or so to sort out the rental, etc. and then we get on the way. I haven’t been told where you come from so I am not sure if you have just been on a long international flight but will just assume so. As a result you probably will be tired to say the least..........anyhow I recommend not to rush off today but go downtown Christchurch for the remainder of the day and stay the night.
I’ll send along with your itinerary a list of recommended accommodations in the South Island.
For a B&B in Christchurch I recommend the Devon Hotel right downtown in walking distance of almost everything plus the tram that goes throughout the city goes by the door. Nice peaceful quiet spot you may wish to treat yourself to as a beginning. www.thedevon.co.nz. If you do go there let Sandra, the owner, know I sent you. Wonderful lady.
Here are the websites to find out the important places to go there:
www.christchurch.org.nz
www.tram.co.nz
www.artscentre.org.nz
www.christchurchartgallery.org.nz
Plenty of great cafes, restaurants and bars............
Good place to begin your travels so enjoy and get a good night’s sleep as I am going to make sure you get to see New Zealand in the few days you have.................



Day 2 -
Let’s go.....no slacking we are on our way now. From Christchurch we head north on route one. The drive takes you through small communities. If interested in picking up some local wines stop at Pukeko Junction on the left near Leithfield. Best bargain buying of the local best. If you want to try a really good cafe on the left just after but before Amberley is the Brew Moon cafe.............you’ll love it! You are headed to Kaikoura, home of the whales, dolphins and seals. Expensive to go see the whales but check out the Whalewatch anyhow. www.whalewatch.co.nz . The town has got some great bars and restaurants to hang out. You haven’t given me any information to know what age you are so it limits my direction a bit.........
If you want to see some seals up close and personal go north of Kaikoura several kilometres until the road (route 1) does a sharp left and begins going through an area where the shoreline is quite rough. Keep an eye open for places to pull off.
I recommend going to where you will see a small sign on the left denoting Opah Walk. There is a real large parking lot on the right. Not many people are aware of this but take that short walk and you will come to a fabulous waterfall area. After that turn around and then you can park in the pull-off spots where all the seals hang out..................return to Kaikoura for the night. let me know what kind of accommodations you require and we will work it out. This goes for the entire trip.
Have a look at this website for pricing, etc. - www.aatravel.co.nz .
Driving time from Christchurch is 2 1/2 hours.
www.kaikoura.co.nz

Day 3 -
Up early and away you go on a beautiful drive to the West Coast. Go south of Kaikoura on route 1 to route 70 turning right until the junction of route 7 and then th side road to Hanmer Springs. www.hanmersprings.co.nz . Just before Hanmer is the Thrillseekers Canyon - www.thrillseekerscanyon.co.nz . You may want to give something a go there. What you don’t want to miss is the best hot pools in New Zealand at Hanmer Springs. Take a soak and enjoy...........Driving time from Kaikoura is 1 1/2 hours.
From here we return to route 7 and turn right. The upcoming drive is one of the most scenic in New Zealand going through the Lewis Pass. It is a 3 hour drive now to the West Coast. A great little town of Reefton is a good stop. Maybe the Old Miners will be in there shack in the middle of the town? Continue along route 7 to the town of Greymouth on th West Coast. Stay the night here or if not tired yet of driving go just the short distance to a real nice place to stay at the Shining Star Resort on the beach - www.shiningstar.co.nz on the north edge of Hokitika.
www.hokitika.co.nz

Day 4/5/6 -
Be sure to check out Hokitika as it is the best arts and crafts town in th South Island and has a lot of interesting shops. Great beach too..........a real wild West Coast beach. Don’t dally though as we are heading for Glacier Country a drive of just over 2 hours to Franz Josef. Along the way be sure to stop at the home of the giant sandfly, Pukekura, south of Ross to experience a real West Coast place and meet a thar!
On to the glaciers...........I recommend staying at the Rainforest Retreat - www.rainforestretreat.co.nz - You can walk free to the base of the glacier or take any of the activities on hand such as a helicopter ride to walk on the top......
www.west-coast.co.nz
www.glaciercountry.co.nz

On south on route 6. It is about an hour to Fox Glacier. At the north edge of town take the road to Lake Matheson and walk around it. This is the picture post card lake of New Zealand. After it is on south on route six to the end of the West Coast at Haast. Good restaurant there - McGuires nothing much else but that’s okay we got a long but exciting drive today up the Haast River Valley through Mount Aspiring National Park. be sure to stop and see Thunder Falls and just past the Gates of Haast at the bridge before climbing the mountain through Aspiring. This will be a long drive taking you to Wanaka for the night. Good stop at Makarora. You will pass between Lake Wanaka and Lake Hawea on the way. Beautiful scenery all the way. Wanaka is a real tourist town you will appreciate.
www.lakewanaka.co.nz

Day 7/8/9 -
From Wanaka we are off to Queenstown. It is a drive of 1 1/2 hours through more scenic wonderland. You will drive through the area’s wine country and be sure to stop at the original bungy jump along the way at the end of the gorge. Take a short detour through Arrowtown, an old mining town redone, on the way to Queenstown.
Stay in Queenstown and get your adrenaline needs filled. This is New Zealand’s party town so enjoy. Cheap accommodation in town is at the Top Ten Holiday park - www.camp.co.nz .
Since you would find it very hard to do in the time you have I suggest you catch a tour to Milford Sound out of Queenstown. It is a long hard drive so let them do it so you can enjoy the sight-seeing. It will still take an entire day..............
www.queenstown.co.nz
www.everythingqueenstown.com
www.realjourneys.co.nz


Day 10 -
Leaving Queenstown return north on route 6 to Cromwell taking route 8 through the awesome Lindis Pass to Omarama and then route 83. At Omarama there is a display of costumes from the Xena TV show at the Totara Flats Gallery. Can’t miss it. Small town. Driving time from Queenstown will be 3 hours. Go on to Twizal to stay the night another 1/2 hour drive.

Day 11/12 -Mckenzie Country- LOTR Country!
From Twizal now we go into some breath-taking scenery on route 8 to the turnoff to Mt. Cook. Driving time is only an hour. You might want to splash out here and stay the night at the Hermitage -
www.mtcooknz.com
www.hermitage.co.nz

Leave Mt. Cook and on to Lake Tekapo.............Try the new ho tubs there by the lake . Stay the night in the Lake Tekapo Holiday Park - www.laketekapo-accommodation.co.nz - Just before Lake Tekapo there is a urn off to the top of Mt John one of the most fabulous outlooks in country and a glass enclosed cafe nest to the Observatory.

Day 13 -
The drive to Christchurch is 3 hours so judge your own time to get to the airport to turn in your vehicle by 4pm and then get a room at a hotel close by for the 8am departure.................I can recommend the right hotels if you want.... You might want to shorten your stay in the Mckenzie Country and drive through.....your call to make it easy on you.

Day 14.........................goodbye! Hope it worked for you! I have pointed out a lot of information few visitors get since I have been to them and know them myself and enjoy passing on the information to anyone I can help enjoy their time here.